While many eyes were turned towards various Skyrunning races in Europe and several other quality ultras around the world, a major new event had its inaugural year in Japan, The North Face Ultra Trail Mount Fuji (“UTMF”). It’s the brain-child of Tsuyoshi Kaburaki, the Japanese ultrarunner who has had great performances at ultras for years, especially UTMB and Western States.

He first went to UTMB five years ago and this led to the vision to create a similar race in Japan. Actual preparation for the race started around two years ago and it was meant to occur last year, but the tsunami forced a cancellation. The course had to be revised in 2012 and many sections of the race had to be re-routed because the earthquake that caused the tsunami had caused damage due to landslides and rock-falls.

Mt. Fuji was the obvious choice for location since it’s Japan’s highest mountain with an elevation of 3,776m (12,388ft) and is an active volcano straddling the Yamanashi and Shizuoka Prefectures. Five lakes are located in the foothills of the mountain and the full course includes a view of every angle of Mt Fuji.

In terms of stats for the race, here it is in numbers:

May 18-20, 2012

156km (97 miles)

48 hours cut-off

Limit of 800 runners, which was reached very quickly

Approx 8,530m of ascent and the same amount of descent (28,000ft)

Approximately 4% of the runners were from overseas

15 different nationalities, 11 different countries

They also offer a shorter version like at UTMB, going from Shizuoka to Yamanashi and covering 82km (almost 51 miles) with a limit of 1,200 runners.

Many top North American and European runners initially entered the event, including Scott Jurek, Mike Wolfe, Sebastian Chaigneau and Tracy Garneau but they didn’t make the start line. That left the field open to be dominated by the likes of Julien Chorier (2011 Hardrock 100 winner), Adam Campbell (2012 Chuckanut 50k winner), Hal Koerner (double Western States winner), Duncan Callaghan (double Leadville 100 winner) and Nerea Martinez for the ladies (2nd in the last two UTMBs). Many fast Japanese runners obviously turned up to race hard, as well.

Although live coverage of the race was limited and mainly in Japanese (Bryon was too busy at Zegama watching the North American contingent, which included the author, falling around in the mud), all reports seem to be positive. The men’s event was a two-horse race between Adam Campbell and Julien Chorier, with Hal Koerner dropping early and Duncan Callaghan off the pace. For the women, Nerea Martinez destroyed the field with over a 3 hour margin of victory. Translated results are below and come from the Petzl blog which also has great photos because the official results are mainly in Japanese (men and women).

UTMF Women’s Results

Other Notable North Americans

11. Duncan Callaghan (Vasque) – 23:35:08

Adam Campbell’s Report

I really want to have a good crack at UTMB and, without having done a 100 miler, I figured this would be great preparation. I also think the race will grow in popularity in the coming years, so being part of the inaugural event is special.

From a cultural perspective, Japan has an amazing relationship with running and endurance events and my grandfather was the Canadian ambassador to Japan in the ‘60s and spoke very highly of the country and the people. I grew up surrounded by Japanese art and memorabilia, as well as his stories and have always wanted to visit. Also, my wife has been competing in Japan, almost annually for the past 6 years and always comes home raving about the experience.

I like to call mountain ultra races, “competitive adventures,” so adding in travel to a foreign country adds to the adventure of it all. Plus, it kept me motivated through the long, cold and dark winter months of the northern hemisphere.

Overall, the race was amazingly well organized. The course was well-marked, beautiful and challenging and they had a tonne of volunteers and spectators. I had a few language barrier issues at a couple intersections and ran off course by about a kilometer at one point, but that was my fault as much as the volunteers at that corner. Even at night, they had LED lights marking the route through the woods and grassland areas, which made it easy to follow.

The race also gave a great sense of local culture, in that they had us run past temples and sacred areas, through towns, as well as some magnificent views of Mt Fuji and the Southern Alps. I also saw quite a bit of wildlife, with several deer and animals called raccoon dogs.

There is a very vibrant trail running scene emerging in Japan and along with their respect for endurance sports, you could feel how welcoming they were and how excited they were to host this world class event.

The technical sections of the race were incredibly steep and technical, very similar to what we have on the North Shore mountains of Vancouver, but that was partly offset by about 40 kilometers of road running, which still had noticeable amounts of climbing.

Hal Koerner’s Report

I was initially draw to UTMF partly because it’s a point-to-point course, if you will, with amazing scenery and I also wanted to be a part of the participation base that is off the charts for this inaugural event.

Getting the chance to visit Japan, from the massive urban complex to the countryside surrounding Fuji, the hospitality of the Japanese people, getting exposure to such a vastly different culture was something I couldn’t pass up.

Indeed my race ended early, I was running well and in fourth or fifth position through 24 miles when we cruised out of town and began one of the many ascents on the course. About ten minutes into the climb my breathing was erratic and my legs became more and more fatigued, almost on the verge of cramping? Four hours later, I walked into the next aid station completely shot. A repeat of 2011 UTMB was not in the cards. [Author’s note: Hal death marched in just under 39 hours, which was inspiring to see first-hand.] I also think that traveling to foreign countries and indulging in the culture and excitement of it all takes a larger toll on the body than one expects. I do know that no matter how hard I try to put the disappointing circumstances that caused me to retire from the event out of my mind there will be a number of instances that make me want to relive it for years to come.

From a racers perspective, the event was unbelievably well run. Race management (a shout out to Kab, TNF Japan, and Goldwin) was unbelievable. Everything was well organized and abundantly taken care of for this inaugural event. Remember, this is the first 100 mile race in all of Asia.

The event has many striking similarities to UTMB, the first being the massive amount of volunteers and their associated efforts along the course and in aid station as well as the copious marking and human markers at most intersection. (No, really, most intersections along the 100 miler.) The aid stations had everything and as I followed Carly along the course later on I saw the workers there bend over backwards to get runners fed, massaged, encouraged and on their way.

The Start/Finish line atmosphere was very inspiring with its large staging area and numerous vendor booths, but, in typical Japanese fashion, everything was well-organized, clean and RELAXED. Something I needed to help ease the nerves leading into the race. UTMB can feel overcharged at times and crowded, which is great for building excitement, but it can be exhausting at times as well. I mean, I’m used to start lines with a couple hundred people at most.

They offer a great view of life here in Japan, but I found the diverse running conditions exhausting. Changing gears from very steep/technical climbs and descents onto 6-minute/mile pace roads was taxing at times and necessitated even more pacing that I eschewed too early I believed. Speaking on a technical standpoint, there are three or four mountainous areas that rival anything at the HURT 100 and there is once section, some 17 miles in length with over 6,000 feet of climb. It is arduous to say the least with rock outcroppings and ropes to facilitate a walk at best. Remember, this section took the winner 4.5 hours and most well over 7 hours.

The course is beautiful though, there are expansive views of Fuji on almost every section as they refresh the mind and help to carry the runner on. The forests and mountains are unlike anything seen in the US and are well worth the easy trip to Tokyo and beyond. The numerous Japanese spectators and volunteers along the route definitely stepped up to match the cheering throngs akin to UTMB and made the experience uniquely cultural.

Yes, the race was incredibly well organized, especially for an inaugural event. We made a few suggestions to make it easier for foreign athletes next year and to improve the overall racing experience, so the race will be even better next year, but without over-hyping it, it was already a world class event. I can't begin to say how gracious, welcoming and accomodating our Japanese hosts were and the course was a great challenge, with a lot of diversity. The food is also incredible and worth a trip in itself.

I am happy to answer anyone's questions about the event and will be posting a race report on iRunFar over the next day or so when I can squeeze some time to write one.

I have a bunch of pictures up on my blog which give some idea of the race and events that surround it.

It was a great event indeed. Weather was perfect and from numerous points along the course participants could see Mt Fuji in all it's glory. This will definitely develop into one of the premier Asia-Pacific 100 mile events before too long. It will be a quick sell-out race in years to come, no doubt.

Would like to share some pictures here which hopefully give some good impressions of the atmosphere: http://on.fb.me/UTMFpics.

It already sells out, both events were full in 45 minutes. UTMF organizers are already looking at adding more spots for 2013 and incrementally upping the 2000 plus spots each year to accommodate interest.

To see these runners finish such a demanding course, not to mention an unfamiliar distance was indeed inspiring.

Post from Japanese local who finished UTMF. Although we have dozens of trail races in Japan, this is the first international premium event in scale and level of competition. Hope to see more international runners next year, and believe this event will be good connecting point of ultra/trail running community in Japan and the world.

Just to echo a few above, as a foreign runner in this inaugural event, I was very impressed with logisitcs and overall organisation. Having done a 100km earlier in Japan I feared course markings would be an issue, but this was so detailed and hard to get lost. The big big issue I had, which everyone had was the incorrect or maybe miscommunicated 27km section between a8 and a9 after 103kms in the legs. It took me 9h 20 mins (and I finished in 78th position) and I suffered major cramps and vomitting through dehydration and no food since no CPs and throughout the heat of the day. I thought it was a great technical section but a CP was needed here. I knew people that took over 13 hrs alone here that are v competent and experienced UTMB finishers. The other smaller issue was some of the no poles sections…like why going up a steep road can I not use poles? Is there some environmental or noise reason?

All in all great race and many congrats to TNF and Kabaraki-san/Goldwin.

Finally!!! I have seen the coverage in a Japanese cable channel last weekend. Although not in English, i can still completely understood what went on during the race and how everyone felt after participating. What can i say?? It was actually scary- at 158KM- and a mountain trail!!! I thought this is really not for everyone!! But the level of preparation and organization is flawless- Japanese what can i expect? :-) I would love to participate 1 day but please not in a race. Haha

We just signed up for UTMF 2013…even with the reg fee increase (460$ CAD) we are expecting it to be a blast! However, I'm not looking forward to acending for 7 hours as per Hal's comment above…or looking forward to a 13 hour flight from Toronto…but c'est la vie. Anyone else have any other comments?